Highlands Lady Owls play through tough times, refuse to surrender

Published 6:20 pm, Monday, September 23, 2013

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / Southside Reporter

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Highlands volleyball coach Jaci Barrientes, center, talks to the Lady Owls between sets during their match with WYLA at the Highlands gym last week. After a rough season last year, a more mature team is finding success. less

Highlands volleyball coach Jaci Barrientes, center, talks to the Lady Owls between sets during their match with WYLA at the Highlands gym last week. After a rough season last year, a more mature team is finding ... more

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / Southside Reporter

Highlands Lady Owls play through tough times, refuse to surrender

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After beginning the season with 10 straight losses, it appeared Highlands volleyball team might be setting itself up for another difficult year. Last year, the Lady Owls dragged through a 9-27 season and finished far out of a playoff spot.

So at the lowest point of the season, the Lady Owls gathered to try to figure things out. One of the things they determined from that gathering is they wouldn't quit, no matter how difficult things got.

“We all made a promise to each other, and ever since that promise, we've been playing like there's no tomorrow,” senior right side hitter Melody Guzman said.

The wins have followed. After their brutal start, the Lady Owls won 12 of their next 19 matches. They lost to San Marcos on Friday, but they're still in District 28-4A playoff contention at 5-2.

“They've got a lot of hunger in them now,” Highlands coach Jaci Barrientes said of her team. “Hopefully, they can get it done.”

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Barrientes said some lineup changes have made the difference since the team's tough start. The biggest occurred at setter when sophomore Analisa Garza was inserted as the starter. Garza leads the team in assists with 419. She helps set up sophomore Jazmine Jackson (154 kills) and junior Jenna Thompson (103 kills), who rank among the district's top attackers.

The victories have given Highlands a new-found confidence the team had been lacking for quite a while. The Lady Owls closed out the tournament season with a second-place finish in the Silver Division at the Laredo United tournament. They followed that by opening district play with a loss to Brennan in four games. Although Highlands didn't win that match, the Lady Owls played the district favorite tough and that's what Barrientes wanted to see.

“We got that confidence built up and we turned around and played Brennan,” Barrientes said. “We took them to four and battled. That was our turning point.”

Highlands endured its tough times last season with a relatively young team that consisted of a huge core of freshman and sophomores. Guzman and libero Jessica Alvarez are the team's only seniors. The rest of the squad is comprised of six sophomores, four juniors and one freshman.

The Lady Owls' youth hurt them last season. They've been able to work through it and are finding success now.

“Last year was kind of rough for us, but we worked together as a family,” Alvarez said. “We know how each other plays now, and it's been pretty good.